In this weekly
feature, I-CONnect publishes a curated reading list of developments in public
law. “Developments” may include a selection of links to news, high court
decisions, new or recent scholarly books and articles, and blog posts from
around the public law blogosphere.

The Supreme Court of India dismissed an application for
directions to executive authorities for identifying migrant worker, who walk home
to their residences, to ensure that they reach their destinations safely. The
petition was filed in the wake of the death of 16 migrant laborers in North
India.

The
Supreme Court of Canada declined an appeal regarding the inapplicability of provincial environmental
requirements with respect to federally regulated activities carried out on Port
of Québec lands. Analysts say this consolidates a new line of Supreme Court of
Canada decisions limiting the application of provincial environmental permit
requirements to federal undertakings such as ports, airfields and pipelines.
Judgment here.

The Constitutional
Court of Bulgaria announced that it had formally opened a case after
President Roumen Radev tabled a challenge to the Health Act amendments passed
by Parliament earlier this week.

The High Court of Kenya ruled that the
Judicial Service Commission violated the law by purporting to admonish three
justices of the Supreme Court of Appeal in 2016 after a complaint on gross
misconduct was levelled against them.

The Bavarian Higher Administrative Court denied a preliminary
injunction against a regulation to combat the spread of the coronavirus adopted
by the Bavarian State Ministry of Health Care. The regulation made, among other
things, wearing face masks in retail stores, shopping centers, department
stores, and on public transportation mandatory for persons over the age of
seven.

The Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument
in two challenges to the constitutionality of so-called “faithless elector”
laws – state laws that penalize or remove a presidential elector who does not
vote for the candidate he has pledged to support. Analysis of the hearings here.

In
the News

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin rejected the extension
of the state’s stay-at-home order, siding with Republican legislators in a
high-profile challenge of the emergency authority of a statewide official
during the coronavirus pandemic. Judgment here.

Guinea
Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo established a committee on revising the constitution following
years of chronic political instability in the West African state.

The President
of The Gambia stated that the Ministry of Justice would publish a draft constitution in
the Gazette before the end of May 2020, as required by the Constitutional
Review Commission Act 2018.

Sri
Lanka’s Supreme Court will hear petitions filed by opposition parties and civil society against the
dissolution of Parliament by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa six months ahead of
schedule.

The
Algerian government released the draft constitution for public comment. Available
here.

The President
of Bangladesh issued an ordinance allowing virtual court functions for hearing and
disposing of cases.

The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) invites applications for full-time academic appointments assistant, associate, and professors. Applications are invited in all areas of the law.

The University of Hong Kong invites applications for the position of Tenure-Track Professor/Associate Professor/Assistant Professor in the Department of Law.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites all to register for an online course on “Judging in Times of Crisis: Conversations with High Court Judges around the World,” featuring Supreme and Constitutional Court judges from Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, and Taiwan.

Melbourne Law School will hold a webinar on “Privacy post pandemic: restart or reset?” on May 19, 2020.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism welcomes all to an online course on “The State of Canada’s Constitutional Democracy,” featuring leading scholars in conversation with registrants on the major questions in Canadian constitutionalism today.

The City University of London will hold a webinar on May 26 dealing with mapping the directions that European Union Law takes, marking the release of a special issue of the Journal of International and Comparative Law on the Future of EU law.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism welcomes all to register for an online seminar on June 12, 2020, to debate the question “Is the U.S. Constitution Broken?” featuring Mark Graber, Jamal Greene, Sanford Levinson, and Julie Suk.

The IACL Research Group on Gender and Constitutions launched its Covid-19 observatory on the effects of the pandemic on gender equality. Scholars, practitioners and activists willing to contribute are invited to send small posts (1500-3000 words) in English, French or Spanish to vrscotti1@gmail.com.

The MacKell Chair in Federalism at the McGill University, Canada, is collecting sources on the intersection between federalism-writ-large and COVID-19.

The Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) and Verfassungsblog will bring together internationally recognized experts in a three-part online discussion series to reflect on the unprecedented constitutional challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic for states worldwide, and their regional and international cooperation. Next webinar on May 19.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites participants to register for the course “The Future of Liberal Democracy: Global Dialogues with Leading Scholars”. The six-week course will be held live on Zoom starting on July 22, 2020.

Católica Law Review invites submissions, including articles and case notes, closely connected to the subject “Public Law in Times of Crisis” for inclusion in Volume V, issue 1. The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2020.

The International Forum on the Future of Constitutionalism invites participants to register for the online course “The Theory and Design of Constitutional Change”. This six-week course will be held live on Zoom starting on June 1, 2020.

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